Lullaby (2 page)

“Yeah, me neither,” Harper muttered, then followed Alex to the back of the library.

She found him already leafing through a copy of Ovid’s
Metamorphoses,
in the middle of the mythology section. On her way after him, it had occurred to her what he meant by sirens, but the pieces didn’t completely fit.

“You think they’re sirens?” Harper asked skeptically.

“Yeah.” Alex nodded without looking up from the book.

“I don’t know, Alex. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Think about it.” He lifted his head to look at her. “The song? That’s what sirens are known for. Not to mention the whole mermaid thing.”

“Right,” Harper agreed. “But what about the bird-monster thing?”

“Still sirens.” He flipped a page in the book, scanning it frantically. A moment later, he smiled again and held the book out to her. “See for yourself.”

“What?” Harper asked, and Alex tapped a passage.

Aloud, she began to read, “
Why should it be that they have feathers now and feet of birds, though still a girl’s fair face, the sweet-voiced sirens?
”

“See?” Alex said almost gleefully.

“Maybe you don’t remember it, but Penn’s face was not that fair when she turned into the bird thing,” Harper pointed out.

“Obviously this isn’t completely accurate,” Alex said, refusing to be deterred. “Some books say there are only two sirens, while others say there are as many as four. Some describe them as mermaids, others as birds. None of them get it completely right, but maybe that’s because they change form.”

Harper narrowed her eyes, thinking. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe Ovid saw them as a bird.” Alex pointed to the book in Harper’s hands. “But others saw them as mermaids. The girls can change their shape, like you saw. The only constant is their song. And we know they have that.”

Biting her lip, Harper stared down at the book in her hands. What Alex said made sense. Or it would have, if any of this made any sense.

“This is mythology, Alex,” Harper said, shaking her head, and she handed the book back to him. “None of this is real.”

He groaned. “Oh, come on, Harper. You saw the same things I did. This is real, and you know it.”

“Fine.” Harper crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s say you’re right. What we saw … they were sirens. Is Gemma one of them? How did she become one?”

“I don’t know. So much of what I’ve read contradicts itself.” Alex motioned to the shelf of books beside him. “I was researching on the Internet all night, but I was hoping that maybe actual books could offer some clarity.”

“Well, how did the sirens become sirens in the first place?” Harper asked.

“From what I can tell, it had something to do with pissing off one of the gods.”

Alex turned away from Harper to focus his attention on the books. His fingers trailed along the spines as he scanned for a title.

“What are you looking for?” Harper asked, moving closer to him to help him look.

“I read a passage from a book online. I think it’s called …
Argonautica
or something.”

“Here.” Harper reached up past him, taking a worn copy from the top shelf.

She picked up an encyclopedia on Greek mythology, then started grabbing any book that might possibly have information on sirens, including one called
Mythology for Dummies
.

As she began gathering books, she handed them to Alex. Once he had a small stack, he sat down on the floor right between the two shelves and spread the books out around him.

“There are tables we can sit at,” Harper said. “There’s even an overstuffed couch.”

“Here’s good,” Alex said, already flipping through one of the books.

Shrugging, Harper sat down across from him and folded her legs underneath her.

“So.” She rested her arms on her knees and leaned forward. “Tell me what you already know.”

“I don’t know how much I ‘know’ per se, since there seems to be a lot of misinformation,” Alex said.

“You think they became sirens because they angered the gods?” Harper asked, and he nodded. “But Gemma didn’t anger any gods.” Then she changed her mind and shook her head. “At least, I don’t think she did.”

“I don’t think she did, either,” Alex agreed. “So maybe she isn’t one.”

Harper thought back to the end of the other night, when she’d seen Gemma disappear into the ocean in the pale pink light of early morning. Even then, her tail had been unmistakable. Gemma had definitely had a mermaid form.

“No, she’s one of them,” Harper said definitively. “And it doesn’t really matter to me why or how she became one. I just need to know how to get her back.”

“That’s the tricky part.” Alex grimaced. “I haven’t read about any way to undo their curse. Only how to kill them.”

“Well, we don’t want to kill Gemma, but I wouldn’t mind killing those other bitches,” Harper said, a little surprised by the vengeance in her own voice. “How do we do that?”

“I don’t know exactly. Apparently, the sirens are fated to die if someone hears their song and escapes it,” Alex said with a sheepish expression on his face.

“But you heard the song, and so did I, and we escaped it,” Harper said. “And they didn’t die.”

“That’s the only thing I’ve read so far,” Alex said. “But according to what I read in Homer’s
Odyssey
, the sirens should already be dead.”

“Great,” Harper muttered. “So basically what you’re saying is that you don’t know much more than I do?”

“Not really, I guess,” he said. “But at least I figured out what they are.”

“That’s a start,” Harper admitted grudgingly, and picked up a book off the floor.

With no better plan, Harper and Alex were left researching everything they could on sirens. As they went through the books, they spoke very little to each other. They were both too focused on figuring out how to rescue Gemma.

Harper wasn’t sure exactly how long they’d been sitting there reading, but she’d had to change positions because her legs had gone numb. She sat with her back resting against the shelf behind her, the copy of
Argonautica
spread out across her knees.

Even Alex had moved, probably for the same reason. He lay on his belly with the book open before him. His fingers were buried in his dark hair, and his handsome features were hardened in concentration.

Harper glanced up from her book and caught sight of him. Something about the intensity of his expression moved her. His devotion to Gemma nearly rivaled her own, and that made her feel a bit better. She wasn’t in this alone.

“What are you doing?” Marcy asked, and Harper looked up to see her coworker standing at the end of the shelves with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Um…” Harper glanced back at Alex for help with answering the question, but he looked as lost for words as she was.

“Did you plan on doing any more work today?” Marcy asked. “Or were you going to hide out here all day?”

“Well…” Harper shifted so she was sitting up straighter. She knew she should be working, but she didn’t really want to abandon her pursuit, either. That felt more important than scanning in overdue library books.

“If you didn’t feel up to working because of Gemma running away or whatever, then you could’ve just said so,” Marcy went on. “You didn’t need to sneak off on false pretenses.”

“No, we didn’t,” Harper said quickly.

Marcy narrowed her eyes, apparently hearing the conviction in Harper’s words. “What are you doing?”

“We’re, um…” Harper glanced back again at Alex, who hurried to provide a reason.

“We’re, uh, we’re reading … books,” Alex responded lamely.

Harper gave him a severe look, like she thought he was an idiot, and Alex shook his head and shrugged.

“What are you reading?” Marcy asked. When neither of them answered, she bent down and picked up the nearest book, which happened to be called
Sirens: Handmaidens of the Sea
. “This is what you meant by sirens?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alex said.

“Those really beautiful, creepy girls,” Marcy said, putting the pieces together rather quickly. “You think they’re sirens?”

“Well…” Harper swallowed and decided to answer honestly. “Kind of. Yeah.”

“And they took Gemma or had something to do with her running off?” Marcy asked, her voice keeping the same monotone it always had, betraying neither a hint of skepticism nor belief.

“Yeah,” Alex admitted. “We think so.”

Marcy seemed to consider this for a moment, then she nodded as if it all made sense to her, and sat down on the floor.

“Have you figured out a way to get her back yet?” Marcy asked.

“Not yet,” Harper said cautiously. “We’re still looking.”

Marcy held up the
Sirens
book. “Have you looked in this one, or do you want me to look?”

“You can, if you want,” Harper said.

“Yeah, that’d be great, actually,” Alex chimed in with more enthusiasm than Harper, who was still a bit reluctant to trust Marcy’s acceptance. “There are a lot of books to cover.”

“Cool,” Marcy said, and opened the book.

As Marcy began to read, Harper exchanged a look with Alex, but he just shrugged and went back to reading his own book. Harper couldn’t let it go that easily, though. She wanted to, but even after actually seeing the monsters, she’d found it hard to believe in them. And Marcy seemed to trust it with almost no evidence.

“So … that’s it, then?” Harper asked.

“What?” Marcy lifted her eyes to look at Harper.

“You just…” Harper shook her head, unsure of how she wanted to phrase it. “You just believe in sirens?”

“I don’t know.” Marcy shrugged. “But you guys seem to, and I’ve never known either of you to be totally insane, so I figure there must be some truth to it. Besides that, I always knew something was off with those girls, and they fit the bill as sirens.”

“Oh.” Harper smiled wanly at her. “Well, thanks for the help.”

“No problem.” Marcy smiled back and readjusted her glasses. “My uncle saw the Loch Ness Monster once, too. So I’m a bit more open to things than you.”

Bewildered, Harper shook her head. “Okay.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate the help,” Alex said, as if something had just occurred to him, “but shouldn’t one of you be at the desk in case someone else needs help?”

“There’s a bell up there,” Marcy said. “And this is more important, right?”

Harper normally took her job seriously, but Marcy was right. And Harper had an awful suspicion that if they wanted to help Gemma, they had better do it soon. Or it would be too late.

THREE

Revelations

Despite the fact that the three of them had spent the entire day scouring mythology books, they hadn’t been able to find out much more about how to help Gemma. But when Harper came home from work, she was feeling better than she had since the night Gemma left.

It was reassuring to have Alex and Marcy working with her, even if Marcy wasn’t all that helpful. Harper wasn’t alone, and that made saving Gemma feel more possible.

That feeling of hopefulness evaporated the instant Harper walked through the front door and saw her father.

Brian stood in the middle of the living room. It looked like he’d walked into the room, then forgotten where he was going or why, so he just stopped. He hadn’t shaved that morning, his eyes had bags beneath them, and his skin was ashen.

“Hi, Dad,” Harper said as she closed the front door quietly behind her.

He looked up at her with a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Hi, sweetie.”

“You didn’t end up going to work today?” Harper asked him.

When she’d left for work in the morning he’d still been home, but Harper had been hoping he’d go in. He didn’t have any paid time off left, and their whole family would be in really big trouble if he lost his job. Not only was he the breadwinner of the family, but his health insurance helped keep Harper’s mother in assisted living.

“I thought she might come home,” Brian said, his normally warm voice sounding gravelly from exhaustion and sadness.

“Have you eaten today?” Harper asked, walking past her father toward the kitchen. “I can make you something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Brian said.

“Come on, Dad. I’m making you something.”

Harper went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She pulled out lunch meat and mayo, and by the time she’d started making him a sandwich, Brian had wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

“Have you heard from her?” he asked.

“No.” She slathered the bread with mayo and refused to look back at him as she spoke. “You know I’d tell you if I had.”

“I just don’t understand why she’d run away,” he said, with a now-familiar frustration taking over. “She had so much she wanted to do. And she was even dating Alex. Why would she leave? Even if she was mad at me.”

“She wasn’t mad at you,” Harper reassured him. She put the sandwich on a plate, then set it in front of her father, still without really looking at him. “You know this wasn’t about you.”

“But it doesn’t make any sense!” Brian insisted. “I called her swimming coach today, and he said that her times have been amazing lately. She worked so hard for that. Why would she blow it to run away with some stupid girls?”

“She’s sixteen, Dad.” Harper went over to the sink to start rinsing off what few dishes had piled up, just so she’d have something to do. “Teenagers are unpredictable.”

“But you guys weren’t,” Brian said, speaking louder to be heard over the running water. “Gemma may be strong-willed, but I’ve always known what I was getting with her. It’s like the last week she’s turned into something else.”

Harper accidentally dropped a plate, and it clattered loudly in the sink.

“And the timing couldn’t be worse,” Brian went on. “There’s that killer on the loose going after teenagers.” He took a labored breath. “Something’s happened to her, Harper.”

“Those were all boys,” Harper said, trying to cut off his train of thought. “And I saw Gemma leave. She told me she was running away. She’s fine.”

“She’s not fine!” Brian shouted.

Harper leaned against the sink and closed her eyes. For a moment all she could do was breathe in deep to keep from freaking out. Her hands were trembling, and she wanted to cry. She had to convince her father that everything was all right, when in reality she had no idea if Gemma was okay or if they’d ever see her again.